Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) you have a general right of access to all types of 'recorded information held by public authorities.

When you ask for information under FOIA we have to:

Confirm or deny that we hold the information requested.

Acknowledge your request within five working days.

Give you the information you have asked for within 20 working days of receiving your request.

Provide you with a 'reasonable' level of assistance to gain access to our information.

Inform you of the exemption that applies if we are not releasing the information you want.

Advise you how to appeal if you are not satisfied with our response.

Please note, that in rare cases, where we calculate that it will cost more than £450 to collate and provide the information you have requested we may decline to provide the information. In such cases we work out the costs and issue a Fee Notice to you. If you pay the fee within 3 months we will then provide the information.

How to make an information request under FOI

Your request must:

Be in writing (fax or e-mail are acceptable). We cannot take FOI requests by phone.

Contain a contact name and address - we may need to contact you to clarify the request. A telephone number would also be useful and we will need somewhere to send the information.